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Arthur Epstein, in his opening comments as chairperson, noted that systematic sex research in psychoanalysis is rare. He also remarked that aberrations such as fetishism have been encountered in chimpanzees as well as humans, and that animal models may have some relevance for us. He reported on one case that had come to his attention, and he showed photographs demonstrating a boot fetish in operation.
Michael Stone's paper was entitled “Incest, Freud's Seduction Theory, and Borderline Personality.” Stone considered each of these entities separately before attempting to link them. He noted that incest is harmful for several reasons:
Anthropologically, it detracts from exogamy, which establishes larger social networks and peace between formerly enemy tribes.
It reduces the possible survival of offspring since parents may be too old for childrearing; this is worse when the mother is involved and less of a problem when the father is involved, which may explain why mother–son incest is so condemned. In this regard, he noted that brother–sister incest is probably less of a danger and is considered less repugnant than parent–child.
Genetically, damaging recessive genes may be brought together.
Modern times have addressed the psychological factors with intrafamilial rivalries being damaging to the loser. Autonomy likewise is negatively affected.
He then considered Freud's seduction theories, observing that they progressed from sexual traumas occurring at the hands of nursemaids, governesses, and brothers to paternal seduction. Freud could not accept this as a reality and saw the seduction as being a product of the imagination. He also saw these seductions as linked to hysterical phenomena.
Stone regards a number of Freud's famous cases as borderline by current criteria, and he remarks that transgenerational incest is much more psychologically damaging than intragenerational incest; also more damaging is incest at an earlier age and of longer duration. The emotional atmosphere sur